Cabrillo garden houses one of the largest collections of salvia in the world

In 2004, two Cabrillo College horticulture instructors looked at an 11-acre oak-dotted lot at the top of the campus that was popular with dirt bikers and saw potential for something much more exotic. Today that lot is a botanical garden that holds one of the largest institutional collections of salvia in the world.

Kathleen Navarez still teaches in the well-respected Cabrillo program while Ernie Wasson has moved on, but the collection is thriving. It comprises more than 250 species of salvia, the largest genus of plants in the mint family and one popular with gardeners in Mediterranean climates worldwide. It is now in the hands of Cabrillo nursery manager Andrew Wall.

The garden itself is still in the development stage. There are greenhouses, hydroponic facilities, an embryonic aquaponics operation, and plants of all varieties. The college's horticulture students use the garden to grow some of the herbs and vegetables that they in turn sell every Saturday at the on-campus Aptos Farmers Market.

But the salvias are clearly the garden gem.

The genus, sometimes simply referred to as sage, is made up of nearly 1,000 species of shrubs, herbaceous perennials and annuals. The salvias are grouped according to their place of origin, and the gardeners (through watering and plant placement) attempt to mimic the conditions of each region.

The plants are often grown from specimens donated to the program, or passed along among horticulture buffs.

The salvias of each region are distinct, though the finer points might be lost on those who don't know what to look for. In the South America mound, for example, the species Salvia discolor is one of Wall's favorites. It is native to Peru and it has an unusual slant, looking like it is always bending in a breeze.

Wall was especially proud of one of the garden's salvia hybrids, Salvia guaranitica, or "Jean's Jewel," a type of purple-flowered salvia popular with hummingbirds. Cabrillo is the first nursery to grow the hybrid, and actually offers it for sale at its two annual plant sales. The department has also given the hybrid to two local nurseries, Monterey Bay and Suncrest, both near Watsonville.

The Mediterranean mound includes plants that do well in our Central Coast conditions (when not in a drought) — wet winters and dry summers.

In the Central Mexico mound, the salvia species disappear below ground during the winter and come back up each spring.

Wall, 36, oversees the garden with the help of lab instructor assistants, paid student assistants, and volunteers.

Wall didn't take the typical academic route to his post. He was a waiter before enrolling in a horticulture class at Cabrillo. He fell in love with it. He worked as an assistant in the garden when he was a student at Cabrillo and enjoyed his time so much he decided to pursue a career in it.

"My first love is plant material," Wall said.

When he was hired last August as nursery garden curator, he took over all aspects of the garden, including managing and teaching the dozen paid student assistants about pest management, nursery management, nursery cleanliness, and propagating.

"I want all my students to get positions in nursery managing," Wall said. "I try to teach them that once you think you know something, nature will humble you quickly, and that every day is a new day. You may do something right, you may mess something up, but that's how you learn."

Wall is against heavy pesticide use in the garden and tries to avoid it as much as he can.

"I don't want to walk the road down of heavy pesticide use. It's not OK. I really want to teach our students to be more thoughtful of the environment and the people around them," Wall said.

The horticulture department includes classes about crop production, aquaponics, landscape design and landscape maintenance. Students in the program have the opportunity to work hands on in the nursery, greenhouses, shade houses, raised beds, organic farm, and lab classrooms.

The garden, which is open to the public, sees only a few visitors per week. Wall wants to boost public visits and garner the Cabrillo College Botanical Garden the accolades he believes it deserves.